Playing off Soggy Ground

February 28, 2017 8:36 am

By Jon Woodroffe

We know it is coming but it is still a pain to play on soggy fairways, but it is part of the game. When practicing at the golf range it is impossible to work on the adjustments you need to make to cope with wet fairways and soggy ground as the concrete below the mat will not act the same.

The main thought you need to keep in mind in these situations is that you must have a slightly steeper attack angle on the ball so that you hit the golf ball crisply without catching any of the mud below, much like you would on a fairway bunker shot.

Bringing the ball back slightly in your stance is a good idea, but please only a tiny bit, too much and that will actually encourage hitting too far behind the ball.

With the ball back slightly, this will encourage your weight to be a touch more on your front foot and the shaft of the club will then be leaning towards the hole, all things that will aid the angle of attack you are looking for.

Another small point may well be to look at the front of the golf ball, the bit nearer the hole, rather than the back as you would normally do, this again will help prevent hitting behind the ball.

Finally, a much overlooked factor is the mind set. Try to accept that today may well not be the best round of golf you will ever play. The conditions are not conducive to great scoring and if you can get your head around the fact that a handful of shots over your handicap at this time of year is still a good round, then you will find it a lot easier to accept the tough conditions and enjoy your round a lot more.
All in all let’s look forward to lovely dry, sun drenched fairways, but if you are out there on a cold soggy February morning, I hope these few little tips will make your game a lot easier.

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